Caleb

For other meanings of the word Caleb or Kalev see Caleb (disambiguation)

File:Caleb2.jpg

Mark of Caleb's grave, Timnat Serah

Caleb (Hebrew כָּלֵב‎; Kalev), was an figure in the Hebrew Bible, noted for his faith in God when the rest of the Hebrew nation feared to enter the "promised land" of Canaan on account of the military superiority of the Canaanites.

The son of Jephunneh

When the Hebrews came to the outskirts of Canaan, the land that had been promised them by God, after having fled slavery in Egypt, Moses (the Hebrew leader) sent twelve scouts (or spies, meraglim in Hebrew) into Canaan to report on what was there—one spy representing each of the twelve (landed) tribes. Ten of the scouts returned to say that the land would be impossible to claim, and that giants lived there who would crush the Hebrew army. Only two, Joshua (from the tribe of Ephraim) and Caleb (representing Judah), returned and said that God would be able to deliver Canaan into the hands of the Hebrew nation.

The Bible records that, because of the testimony of the ten scouts, the Hebrews chose not to enter Canaan: for this disobedience, God caused them to wander in the desert for forty years before being allowed to enter Canaan and conquer it as their home. The only adult Hebrews allowed to survive these forty years and enter Canaan were Joshua and Caleb, as a reward for their faith in God. This is recorded in the Book of Numbers.

According to the Biblical text, Caleb was of the tribe of Judah. He represented that tribe among the twelve spies whom Mosessent from the wilderness to spy out Canaan. He and Joshua alone brought back an encouraging report, and in consequence were the only ones of all that came out of Egypt who were permitted to survive and enter Canaan (Num. xiii. 6, 30; xiv. passim; xxvi. 65; xxxii. 12; xxxiv. 19; Deut. i. 36). After the conquest he was given Hebron and the region around it. In the conquest of this territory he offered the hand of Achsah, his daughter, to the man who would capture Hebron for him; the feat was accomplished and the maiden won by Caleb's younger brother, Othniel. To him was assigned the south land, to which later, at Achsah's request, "the upper springs" were added (Josh. xiv., xv.; and Judges i. passim). His name is connected with several towns in southern Judah (I Chron. ii. passim).J. Jr.

Name and identity

Caleb's name is spelled with the same consonants as כֶּ֫לֶב‎ kéleḇ meaning "dog," prompting the common conclusion that the name Caleb means "dog." However, this is not clear. 1 Samuel 25:3 states that Nabal, the husband of Abigail before David, was of the house of Caleb. In Hebrew, the word used for this reference is כָּלִבִּי‎ Kālibbî, and the presence of the -î suffix exposes the double consonant indicating two ב‎ radicals fused together. The Hebrew word לֵב‎ lēḇ, meaning "heart," has the same stem form לִבּ‎ libb-. If כָּ‎ kā- is to be understood as the preposition kə- meaning "as; like," and the vowel as the pretone syllable promoted to ā, then the name כָּלֵב‎ Kālēḇ could also be understood to mean "as the heart." Indeed, a more flowery form of the word for "heart" is לֵבָב‎ lēḇāḇ, where the two ב‎ radicals are not fused but separated by a vowel. Biblical text uses the flowery expression כְּלֵבָב‎ kəlēḇāḇ "as the heart" and כִּלְבַב‎ kilḇaḇ "as the heart of," and there is also the modern expression כִּלְבָבִי‎ k'l'vavi "after my own heart."

In rabbinical literature

In Rabbinical Literature:

In the rabbinical sources, Caleb, the son of Hezron (I Chron. ii. 18-20), is identified with Caleb, the son of Jephunneh (Num. xiii. 6), the epithet "Jephunneh" having been given to him because he "turned away" ( = ) from the sinful intention of the other spies who advised the people against going into the Holy Land. Caleb is also called (I Chron. iv. 5) "Ashhur," because his face became black () from much fasting, and "father of Tekoa" (), because he fastened () his heart on God, and in this faith he married the prophetess Miriam, whom, although she was neither fair nor healthy, he treated with fatherly love (), appreciating her own piety and her relationship to such brothers as Moses and Aaron.

Although the son of Jephunneh, Caleb is also called "the Kenizzite" (A. V., "Kenezite," Josh. xiv. 6, 14; compare Judges i. 13), because Kenaz, the father of Othniel, was his stepfather; Othniel thus being in fact his half-brother (Soṭah 11a, 12a, where the names of Azubah's children [I Chron. ii. 18] are applied to Caleb in haggadic fashion; see also Ex. R. i. 17).

When Caleb came to Palestine as one of the spies, he visited the graves of the Patriarchs in Hebron (compare Num. xiii. 22) and prayed for their help against the sinful intention of his colleagues (Soṭah 34b). It was also he alone who insisted that the spies should take some of the fruits of the country with them in order to convince the people of the extraordinary fertility of Palestine. As they did not wish to do this Caleb drew his sword and said: "If you will not take any fruit with you, then either my life or yours!" (Tan., Shelaḥ 15, ed. Buber; Num. R. xvi. 14). Thoroughly realizing the evil intentions of the spies, and knowing that it was useless to attempt to dissuade them, he did not betray his plans to them, but acted as if he agreed with them (Tan., l.c. 19; Num. R, l.c. 19). But when the spies began to incite the people against Moses, and hissed Joshua, who attempted to act as peacemaker, Caleb, whom they had thought to be on their side, rose and said, "This is not the only thing the son of Amram has done for us."—here all the ring-leaders were silent—"He has taken us out of Egypt; he has divided the sea for us; and he has fed us with manna. Now, therefore, if he were to command us to make ladders and scale the heavens, we should obey him. Let us go up at once and take possession" (Soṭah 35a; Num. R. l.c.; Tan., l.c.). When the country was divided, Caleb and Joshua received the portions that had been intended for the other spies (B. B. 117b, 118b).

Caleb was the father of Hur from his second wife Ephrath (I Chron. ii. 19), and, therefore, the progenitor of the Davidic house, the "Ephrathite" (I Sam. xvii. 12; Soṭah 11b; Sanh. 69b).J. Sr. L.

Critical view

The eponymous ancestor of the clan of Calebites. Since "Caleb" signifies dog, it has been thought that the dog was the totem of the clan. Modern criticism finds several different strata to this material, representing different points of view. The oldest writer (J) calls him simply Caleb in Josh. xv. 14-19; and Judges i. connects him with the expulsion of the sons of Anak from Hebron, and with the gift of Achsah and of certain lands to Othniel. D and P call him Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and make him one of the twelve spies. In the original form of the story he alone brought back the favorable report, and so of all that came out of Egypt he alone entered Canaan.

Footnotes/sources

1. Gary N. Knoppers, I Chronicles 1 - 9 (New York:Doubleday, 2003), p. 305; also see pp. 347-349 in the same book.

See also

• Animal names as first names in Hebrew
• The Chronicler

External links

• The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1908
• Calev in the Biblical Encyclopedia Tanakh Profiles (Hebrew/English) See also translations of names.

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